Laura Cadman: Tomb Raider
by Smudge the rat
Summary: This is more or less what it sounds like: Laura Cadman as an unsuitably dressed archaeologist type, sent into a recently discovered cave to retrieve an Ancient artifact.


**A/N: **Uh, they have similar names and are equally sexy, athletic, capable and secretly a little bit girly. So... I decided that Laura Cadman should be Lara Croft. Thus, this was spawned. **Disclaimer - **I don't own Stargate Atlantis or Tomb Raider. **Feedback** is appreciated, but **flamers** will be thrown to the Wraith.

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Laura's breath was coming in ragged pants as she ran back the way she came, following the map in her head to the cave's entrance. Risking a glance over her shoulder, she saw the creatures gaining on her and found enough strength within herself to put on a burst of speed. Her hands slid down to her thigh holsters, ready to grab the guns if the creatures – the Wraith that the scrolls had warned her about – came too close. They were tall and blue skinned, with long white hair and they carried guns capable of stunning, as Laura had discovered when the bear she had been about to shoot was hit by one of their bullets.

OK, so maybe she should have paid attention to the scrolls instead of passing these Wraith off as superstition, but that didn't matter now. The Ancient artifact was safely stowed in her backpack, she'd managed to get back through the submerged section without drowning, and if she could just get out of here without being killed – by having the life drained out of her if the stories were correct – she might finally get some answers about what she'd read in the scrolls.

The _thunk_ of a large wooden arrow hitting the wall behind her told Laura that she was heading in the right direction. She'd passed this booby trap on the way in, and since the Wraith didn't know about it and she did, she was even willing to count it as an advantage. Dodging the heavy arrows that emerged from slits in the walls of the cave was easy enough once you knew their pattern, and Laura had taken plenty of time to figure that out the first time she'd passed through this way. From the cries she heard from way too close behind her, she could tell that several of her pursuers hadn't got through as unscathed as she had.

Allowing herself a brief smile, Laura decided she was probably close enough to the surface to get signal and activated her radio. "Sheppard, you'd better still be out there!" she shouted, jumping over a large rock in her way and rolling as she hit the ground.

A lazy American drawl came over the radio. "This is Sheppard. I take it you ran into a little trouble in there?"

"Save the 'I told you so' for later," Laura panted. "I've got what we came for and I'm heading towards your position. Uncloak now and be ready to get out of here as fast as you can once I'm on board."

For a couple of seconds, Laura heard nothing but her own heavy breathing and the footsteps of the Wraith that pursued her. Then: "Done. And I still say I should've gone in with you."

Tempted as she was to grace the Colonel with a reply, Laura ignored him because she could see sunlight in the distance and practically feel the Wraith behind her and she needed all of her concentration right now to just stay alive. A few seconds later she burst out into the open, boots crunching against the snow as she hurled herself at the open ramp of the green spaceship Sheppard had called a Puddlejumper. The ship started to rise into the air as the ramp was still closing, and Laura still had to turn and shoot at the scaly fingers that clutched at the ramp, falling backwards onto the deck as she did so.

"Miss Cadman? You OK?" McKay got out of his seat and crouched beside her, checking for injuries. When she waved a hand dismissively, he reached for her backpack and unzipped it, searching through her equipment until he found the artifact. Pulling it out, he handled it with reverent care, turning it over in his hands to examine it thoroughly. Laura pushed herself up and took a seat on the bench in the back of the 'jumper.

"I've fulfilled my end of the bargain," she said, watching the scientist run his hands over the artifact. "It's time for the pair of you to tell me the truth. What is it that you're not telling me?"

"Why would you assume we haven't been entirely honest with you?" Sheppard asked, turning around in his seat. Laura really hoped that the ship had an autopilot function.

"We're flying in a mind-controlled spaceship," she pointed out. "Last time I checked, NASA wasn't quite at that level of technology." She'd held her questions back until now because experience had told her she wouldn't get an answer, but now that she'd been through all of that trouble to get the artifact for them, she thought they owed her a little elaboration at least. "Who are you? Are you really part of the United States Air Force? What were those… things that nearly killed me? And what the hell is the purpose of the artifact?"

"We showed you the scrolls," McKay told her absentmindedly. "This 'artifact' is an Ancient power source, and those 'things' were Wraith – life sucking aliens from another galaxy. And yes, he's an Air Force Colonel and I'm a scientist on their payroll."

"But I thought the Ancients were a myth!" Laura protested. "You can't really expect me to believe that I was just chased by aliens. If they're from another galaxy, what are they doing on this planet?"

Shrugging, McKay put the artifact – Ancient power source – in a storage case that seemed to have been custom made to carry it. "You guess is as good as mine. Where did you find them?"

A mental image of the cavern where she'd found the artifact flashed through Laura's mind. "They were in these glass chambers," she said quietly. "I thought they were… I don't know. Statues or something. But when I removed the artifact from its altar, they came to life."

"Sounds like the cryogenic chamber in the Ancient outpost," McKay replied. "They were probably keyed to open when the ZPM was removed."

Ancient outpost? ZPM? Laura was half inclined to believe that they were talking nonsense, but then she'd been through some pretty supernatural adventures herself.

"Don't worry," Sheppard spoke up from the driver's seat. "Once we get back to Colorado Springs and get you some security clearance, we'll explain everything."

Picking himself up of the floor, McKay dusted himself off and grinned. "John, you know what this means, right? If this ZPM is still even partially charged…"

"I know," Sheppard replied, turning back to the holographic display that was projected over the viewscreen. He sounded like he was trying to keep the excitement from his voice when he breathed the single word: "Atlantis."

Laura could tell that she'd gotten herself into something big. And it promised to be the biggest adventure of her life.


End file.
